Karmic Lessons

Ok, so I realize in my post "Clear the Transaction" the second story about the debit card contained absolutely no Karmic lesson at all. I know people read that with a puzzled look on their face thinking "did I miss something?" No you didn't miss anything. I edited out the real story because it made me look like a snob and because it made the post too long. But here's what actually happened.. .....

Before the manager came over, the clerk who had been ringing up my groceries noticed that one of my lasagnas was defrosted. "This is defrosted ma'am" he said, holding it up, "want me to get you a new one?" I wanted to say no. I should have said no because when I picked that lasagna out of the freezer I distinctly noticed that they all had wrinkly boxes and they all looked exactly like the one I had. But I shrugged and said "sure" thinking he was the expert. Then he called a kid over who looked pretty clueless but eager to help. He sent the kid to get my lasagna. "Great" I thought, "he'll never find it".

Why did I think that? Because this was no ordinary lasagna. This was Amy's Organic Lasagna and it isn't kept with the rest of the frozen food, it's on the opposite side of the store, so obscure that only I, the handful of people who buy that brand in a Baker's, and the person who stocks that freezer know where it is. Most people who buy stuff like that go to the tree-hugger stores like Wild Oats.

So while the manager was screaming out to the entire store that I could not afford to get a hundred dollars out of my account, and I was trying to keep my composure, the kid had darted eagerly off before I could think of a way to tell him that it wasn't where he probably thought it was.

I stood beside another young man who was going to push my cart out. I tried not to tap my foot or huff impatiently but I'm sure my demeanor gave me away. "What's wrong?" the young man asked generously. "Well, I know that kid didn't know where that lasagna was but I didn't tell him because if I'd told him it would be like insulting him before he's even made a mistake." The young man ,who was a little older than the kid, said something helpful and soothing. "How sweet" I thought. He is well on his way to understanding women. We stood there for about 15 minutes which feels like an eternity when you are blocking that narrow aisle of space on the way to the door. The kid finally showed up, panting.

"I can't find it" he said.
I didn't say anything but gave the other young man a look that said "what did I tell you?"
"It's not with the regular frozen food" I said. "It's in the produce section over there", I pointed.
Off the kid went again and returned in about 2 minutes.

The following weekend on the way out of church the lady who organizes our singles lunches told me where we were meeting for lunch. "It's the Olive Garden at Lakeside" she said "do you know where that is?" "Oh sure" I said and darted eagerly off. I know exactly where Lakeside is and how hard could it be to find the restaurant once I got there.

As it turns out, it was very hard. There had been a fleeting moment just before I had answered her that I thought I should ask her for directions just in case. About 20 or 30 minutes later I was still driving around Lakeside trying to call them on my cell to ask where it was.

"I can't find it"I said.
She didn't say anything critical, just directed me to the right location.
I arrived there in about 2 minutes.

I had to laugh as I realized I was experiencing exactly what that kid had gone through hunting for my lasagna. Ok so the kid wasn't such an idiot after all. The church ladies were much more gracious than I had been. They didn't tell me "I told you so" or lecture me on why I shouldn't be so hesitant to ask for directions. They were just happy to see me. They hadn't even ordered, but instead had waited patiently for me to arrive.

"Patience" I thought, "but that's not enough. Be gracious about it." Got it.